Membership website wow factors

There are many ways you can add the wow factor to your member website. For example, provide a logical structure that users can follow, content they need and services that will make their life easier.

We've detailed six ways you can create the wow factor with your website and make it a truly unique portal for all your member needs.

1. Provide a one-stop-shop for all your member needs

Aim to integrate common membership activities onto your website. Members should be able to renew their subscriptions, book events, receive news feeds based on personal preferences and update their profiles from one location. By providing a one-stop-shop for all their needs, members will spend more time on your site, enabling you to up-sell other relevant products and services.

2. Shift and adapt based on members' needs

Keep an eye on member engagement and adapt your content to suit their behaviour. For example, you could remove forums which are rarely used, or switch from live webinars to recorded ones (or vice-versa). Look at Google Analytics for insight into your top and under performing pages and tweak content accordingly. Don't be afraid to ask members for feedback on your website - this is a useful way to find out if there is any key content missing which should be added to the site.

3. Interact and engage with members

Interact with members as much as possible to show that you care about them and have a vested interest in addressing their needs. Ways you can do this include:

Live seminars or webinars where members can ask questions through chat or a phone line

Facebook or LinkedIn groups where you create topical posts and encourage members to interact

A contact form featured prominently on your website where members can easily contact you

Social media activity: interact with members by responding to comments and liking or sharing their posts

4. Make your website easy to read on mobiles

The number of people accessing the web from their mobiles and tablets is on the increase, so it is essential that your website is easy to read across all devices. Members are likely to be accessing your site when they are commuting to work or travelling, so you need to provide them with content they can read on their mobiles. Many Content Management Systems (CMS) such as Joomla and WordPress provide responsive templates meaning that the content automatically resizes to fit onto smaller screens.

5. Provide easy updating tools for volunteers

If volunteers are involved in updating your website, provide them with updating tools so they can maintain content quickly and easily. CMS such as Joomla and WordPress are very user-friendly and there is no limit to the number of users allowed. You can also maintain a degree of control over content by granting users access to specific pages only.

6. Include a search bar

If your assocation website provides a library of advice or useful downloadable documents, install a search field to help users find the information they need. Don't rely soley on the navigational structure you provide as users will not have the time to visit multiple pages when they are looking for specific content. A search bar will save them valuable time and provides an enhanced user experience.